In its center, the ad shows the cover art from Grand Theft Auto IV inside a torn-asunder heart--a sign some are taking to mean that the Ballad of Gay Tony is the last title of this GTA generation set in Liberty City. Then, below the title, are the words "Next Stop" above a rip in the poster--a phrase some are taking as a cue to the franchise's future direction.

Random joke or hint at GTA's future?

Inside the rip is part of a blue-gray and yellow image that somewhat resembles the color palette of Los Santos, the Los Angeles facsimile in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It could also be that of Vice City, the Miami clone featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The fact that the poster also mentions the film is "coming in March" has some people wondering if that's the date when the next GTA will be announced.

Yes, the leap is pretty tenuous, and could just be another example of the random, wacky humor that is the GTA series' trademark. However, it has been shown that Rockstar loves to hide clues of its future plans in advance. One example is the Impossible Trinity achievement in Grand Theft Auto IV, where the protagonists of the two Xbox 360 expansions--Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez--meet the main game's protagonist, Niko Bellic.

Another reason the ad is getting so much attention is that Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said he expects the next installment in the GTA series next year. In a note sent to investors in early September, he said he expects the next full GTA game to arrive by the 2010 holiday season. He also expects Episodes from Liberty City to sell between 1 and 1.5 million units domestically, a prediction that--if realized--shows that demand for GTA games is as strong as ever.

If Vice City is next, keep it modern day like after GTA IV, but make it the Miami style of clothing and types of events going on. I just want more cars, more weapons, and more player customization. I'm not bettin' on car custimization until after Vice City. They improved from GTA 3 by adding more weapons, more cars, and slightly better graphics into Vice City. Then San Andreas improved again this time with tons of cars and customization, more weapons and player abilities, and the biggest open environment known to GTA with no loading screens while traveling to islands. They'll probably do the same only it will be so much better looking and realistic.

hold up it will be san andreas because if you pay attention in the gta iv storyline san andreas in mentioned a lot
for example
vinewood sign in front of the ULC paper mission Las Venturas Casino ad in the vibe fm
Bernie says im going to san fierro
Vinewood aka los santos + las venturas + san fierro= san andreas

@robayeit I understand what you mean . in gta : san andreas carl mentions coming from liberty city and then the next game was gta iv . that is a good lead.
I recon they should make a london version or 2 maps from which you can travel between for certain missions or objects etc...

Don't laugh but i would like to see it in colorado.Because the could bring snow into it along with snow boarding and skiing. And who wouldn't wanna run around in a computer D.I.A. Or ohio they have snow and a bigger crime rate then colorado

One thing i would love to see would be some of interaction between the 2, but as a long guess, and something i would like to see would be to bring back London, and be able to fly from Liberty to London

R*,please make the game take place in San Andreas or introduce us to a new world in the GTA universe and add in all the awesome stuff that hopefully we all are looking forward to like nude girls(strippers,Hot Coffe) and car costumazation...and more weapons and more content

hmm what if its in Carcer City?
i mean that'll tie a couple Rockstar games together, Manhunt and GTA. it'll give them another fresh storyline to start with and possibly cross plots with GTA4 and plus, they've never really explained Carcer City besides its "filled with crime and corruption" but isnt Liberty City?
hopefully it has a way more lenient Police department so you can fight/kill civilians melee style without being chased lol

Ha ha! I love Roskstar...they sure know how to get everybody talkin'...I'll bet it's gonna be Vice City remade...and if it is, I'm gonna be very happy because Vice City the first GTA game I ever played, and my favorite of the old trilogy. And, if it's set in the '80s, that'll be even better!

maybe they will go back to vice city for this one and then back to san andreas in gta 6. it can be like a new trilogy. GTA III was in Liberty City and then it was VC and SA, so it makes perfect sense..

If you don't count online, GTA IV doesn't seem to have the replay value that previous titles had (too realistic?). I think the lack of celebrity voices might have something to do with it. I'm not saying I don't like GTA IV (I bought the special edition), but I've only beat it once (out of two endings), which is very rare when you consider I attempted 100% completion on San Andreas (totally not worth it).

Hopefully they 1st) update the graphics engine at least by a small amount (similar to the upgrades to the UnreaL 3 Engine for GoW2). 2nd) allow you to freely drive your happy self to the airporT, buy a tickeT and (immediately) begin your flight to Los Santos or Mia....I mean Vice City (of course accompanied by a cut-scene to allow for loading, if necessary). Do they even listen to these foruMz for ideaZ????

I think the next GTA won't be in Vice City or San Andreas. Remember, when game creators were asked why they chose Liberty City for GTA IV, they answered because they didn't really like the way it was portrayed in GTA III, they wanted it to look more like New York City.
So Seagull, maybe Seattle, as it would be fun to see a game covering two countries, for example interactions between a Seattle-like city and a Canadian city like Vancouver, where triads and native gangs roam... and a customs system would be cool.
But anyway, it would be fun to be in Ireland or anywhere else than the US... I completely trust Rockstar for that one...

Speaking about hints for the next game, at the end of the Ballad of Gay Tony, in the credits
SPOILERS!
Is it not Packie we see cryptically walking into the airport terminal with a bag? I find this rather intriguing. Not that im suggesting its going to be set in Ireland, but I loved those characters.

i say they take it somewhere they have never before taken it... like China or something stupidly insane like that. it can give the game the freshness it's been needing since the original GTA. Also, it should come on the pc at the same time as those ugly consoles.

If The Getaway 3 is released that covers London and Just Cause 2 covers South America Soooo Im guessing they're gonna revisit one of the other GTA's. Reason bieng is that if they do any other american city then it will be too much like liberty city. I want Vice City again but fear that if it isn't set in the 80's, it will be boring. San Andreas is sooo good that if they remake that, then it will be the final GTA for the currnet generation of gaming systems. Just my guess.

They could still do so much more with San Andreas, like they revived Liberty City and Vice City for the "stories" titles... I would really like to see them do something like that. And a new GTA London please too, the first on PS1 was great... show that godawful game series "The Getaway" how to set a Sandbox game in London properly

the next 1 will be vice city they say rockstar likes to leave clues well in gta it went liberty city vice city san andreas and y is there a vice city radio station i hope and pray its vice cause the music was so much better than the rest of the gta games gag me with a spoon later